The present invention relates generally to patient handling systems and, more particularly, to patient handling systems with a mobile cantilever transfer device.
The field of patient handling is gaining increased attention as a result of nursing shortages, caregiver injuries, and the rising incidence of obesity in western societies. At the same time, existing approaches to patient handling have several limitations. Manual patient handling systems, for example, generally rely on various lifting and sliding techniques to move a patient. Such systems can lead to discomfort and injury to both patient and caregiver and, in many cases, require the presence of more than one caregiver.
Traditional mechanical solutions, such as floor-based hoists, ceiling lifts, and lateral transfer systems, have been shown to decrease the incidence of caregiver musculoskeletal injury but still present significant safety risks to patients. For instance, traditional mechanical solutions typically involve placing a patient on a temporary support surface, such as a sling or sheet, lifting the support surface that contains the patient into the air, moving the support surface and patient over the floor to the desired transfer location, and carefully lowering the support surface and patient onto the desired transfer destination. Such lifting, moving, and lowering sequences have resulted in numerous reported instances of patient injury, including instances involving the serious injury or death of patients as a result of patients falling from several feet above the floor.
Other mechanical transfer systems in the prior art have attempted to eliminate such patient lifting, moving, and lowering by laterally transferring patients. A lateral patient transfer may involve raising a support surface to the same level as the patient's bed so the patient can roll or slide from the patient's bed onto the support surface. Some attempts have also been made to cantilever a support surface from a lift cart so that the support surface can be raised and placed on top of a patient's bed. An overlap between the support surface and the patient's bed reduces the distance that a patient must be moved to reach the support surface and reduces the risk of the patient falling during the transfer. The effectiveness of existing systems that cantilever a support surface from a lift cart has been severely limited, however, by their inability to allow the support surface to reach different points on a patient's bed, including the middle of a patient's bed, regardless of the width of the patient's bed and without moving the lift cart. In addition, at least some existing systems that cantilever a support surface from a lift cart have proven to be not well suited for environments that restrict the direction from which a patient may be transferred, such as environments that restrict a transfer to a specific side of a bed.
The effectiveness of existing systems that cantilever a support surface from a lift cart has also been severely limited by their inability to transfer patients in a supine, semi-reclined or upright position. For example, some patients have trouble lying in a supine position and lying in a supine position increases the risk of patient aspiration. At the same time, other patients have trouble sitting upright.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a mobile cantilever transfer device that will reach different points on a patient's bed, including the middle of a patient's bed, regardless of the width of the patient's bed and without moving the lift cart of the mobile cantilever transfer device. It can further be appreciated that there is a significant need for a mobile cantilever transfer device that can transfer a patient from more than one direction. It can further be appreciated that there is a significant need for a mobile cantilever transfer device that can transfer a patient in a supine, semi-reclined or upright position. The present invention provides these and other advantages, as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.